What a wonderful club meeting we had this past week! It was a joy to meet Aziz, the Student of the Month from Mead High School. Aziz immigrated from Afghanistan and is doing exceptional academic work. In addition, his family was one of the recipients of our Rotary Christmas Baskets a few years ago, delivered by Bev Reed. How rewarding it was to see how well he and his family are doing today.

Our speakers from HOPE (Hearing Oral Program of Excellence), Danette Driscoll and Kim Shafer, presented great information about the wonderful HOPE school, working with deaf children from birth to 5 years to teach them language skills after their cochlear implants or other surgery to establish sound for these children. These children are then able to attend regular classroom schooling and not have to rely on sign language.

Shawn Kingsbury, founder of Pura Vida Recovery, spoke at last weeks meeting. He's a nephew of our Rotary member Karol Price and Shawn is also a Rotarian from Club 21 in Spokane. Pictures show Rotarian Karen Davis introducing him.

New Member!! Jeff Apland was inducted by President Sherill Pederson last meeting. Jeff and family recently moved here from Eugene, OR. He was a member of the Eugene Airport Rotary Club there for 10 years. Not only was he Past President of that club, he was past Foundation Chair, Treasurer and Live Auction Chair. His former occupation was loan officer. Do welcome Jeff when you see him, he's very friendly.

RYLA has announced the call for applications for the 2018 RYLA Camp, including the exciting announcement that the location will be in Chewelah WA this year! Our club has budgeted to sponsor two young people to this wonderful leadership-building opportunity. Deadline is May for all applications.

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an intensive training program that brings together youth and young adults, ages 14-30, to further develop character and leadership skills and learn about Rotary.

It was just last July that Foundation Chair Mike Dalessi presented Brian Beatty with his Paul Harris Fellowship award. Now, just a few months later, Brian has upped his giving to the Rotary Foundation and has earned his Paul Harris + 1 pin. Wowee, isn't that something!?! As a club Brian, we all congratulate you on your dedication to Rotary. Thank you.

Joe Bruce visited with our club this past week regarding his volunteer with with NASA and JPL. He has been a Solar System Ambassador for the past ten years but in really has been on a 27 year quest discovering mysteries about our space frontier. Joe is the immediate past president of Rotary Club 21.

Our Rotary member for Youth Services, Karen Heppler presented our Student of the Month for January. From Mead High School is the Adviser, Adam Straight and student Francesca Capanni with her mother Ross Watts. Francesca hopes to attend Gonzaga and major in biology with either an Italian or French minor. She was picked from 400 in her senior class.

Multicare has arrived in Spokane in a big way, they have purchased Deaconess Hospital Rockwood Clinics and Valley Hospital. To present to our club last week was Carolyn Cadyk, executive director, George Hampton, marketing, Chris Warrety, director of outreach and Garmin Letz. Their motto is Better Connected.

Dao Nyguen visited our club last week and it was a sweet reunion for Frank Walchak and all the members who remembered helping her when she was here previously. This time she was accompanied by a team of photographers who are making a prime time documentary to be shown in Viet Nam. She was so thrilled with the help she has received since her accident, she is paying it forward through a foundation called Safari Smiles which offers free dental work.

Rob Curley, editor of the Spokesman Review brought an interesting talk to our club. His passion and vision for our local newspaper was evident, and such a breath of fresh air! All he ever wanted was to work at a newspaper. So he started in 1996 and proclaims he was nerdy. He learned code. He has built high-profile , award winning websites for newspapers and, is friends with Mark Zuckerberg, clearly another nerd.

Merry Christmas my fellow Rotarians! You deserve a big HURRAH and WELL DONE for the activities of the last week. The Christmas Basket packing and distribution to members for delivery went more smoothly than ever. Thank you to Mark Liptrap for his organizational excellence, and for making sure things ran so well. Thanks to Dick Kerber and his Load Out Crew – packing the carts was great fun and well organized. -- President Sherril

Our very own member Colin Harris of Hennessey Valley Funeral Home & Crematory was our speaker on Dec. 21st. He holds dual licenses of funeral director and embalmer in Washington. His discussion centered around how to choose a funeral home and what to look for, how to plan and prepare.

Riverpoint Academy, our partner school gave us a glimpse into their award winning school programs. We are so inspired each time I hear the staff or students from that school speak about their experience and educational process at Riverpoint Academy.

Bob Harley has only been a Rotarian for one year but still, he has seen the value of our Rotary International Foundation. Bob has donated $1000 to the Foundation in this his first year in our club. Congratulations Bob! What a bright future there is with you on board.

November 30th, 2017 we inducted a new member, John Hatcher. He was pinned by our District Governor Jerri Anderson as part of her visit. John is retired from physical therapy as a hand specialist and sponsored into our club by Bruce Johnson. Please be sure and welcome John!

District Governor Jerri Anderson brought us an award from 2015-2016 year. Pete Rayner was the Club President that year and received the accolade for our club donating $100 on average to the Rotary Foundation and for 100% Participation in Foundation giving.

District Governor Jerri Anderson came for the annual club visit on November 30th. We had a packed house and loads of activity. President Sherill presided over the meeting, Assistant Governor Karol Price and Past District Governor were there and helped with the proceedings. Our annual District 5080 Conference will be in Sandpoint ID June 1-3 2018. Jerri assures us our future is BRIGHT!

Last meeting we had a very special and motivating presentation by Terry Fossum. Thank you to the Sandie and Hanne for bringing him to our club to speak. One statement that really resonated with me was this: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” I think of our Club when I ponder that statement. -- Sherill Pederson

Dia Maurer of Partnering for Progress (P4P) was our speaker on November 9. P4P is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring access to health care, sanitation, clean water and educational opportunities for 26 villages in the Kopanga region of Kenya. They have 3 health facilities serving the over 30,000 people of this region. Nurses deliver the health care since the MD/patient ratio is 1:10,000 in Kenya. P4P provides a weekly feeding project to help child nutrition. Water projects develop boreholes and catchment tanks. P4P provides scholarships for 27 high school students, of which Aurora Northwest sponsored 2 students. Economic development projects focus on agricultural assistance for growing corn, the primary crop of the subsistence farming in the villages. Thank you Dia for sharing the mission and vision of P4P in this area of Kenya.

Thank you, once again, Aurora Northwest Rotarians, for your contributions to the Polio Plus fund for Polio eradication around the world. Because of your generosity, special donation efforts the past three weeks in our club for World Polio Month have netted $1001 for Polio Plus. These dollars will be tripled through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Thursday I will announce the names of the Rotarians at last week’s winning table that will be fine-free this week.

Rogers High School Interact club hosted a Harvest Party this week. They invited the other service clubs to join them in making it a fun event for everyone. There were 60 students who orchestrated this party, 290 kids attended along with 217 adults. This pictures shows the book give away table, free for anyone in attendance.

APPLE GLEANING with our INTERACTORS! November 4th, Saturday 8:30 @ Walter's Fruit Farm 9807 E Day Road in Green Bluff. Afterwards, a bonfire and chili feed @ Rotarian Roger Wilson's home (the adviser), just a few doors down the road. We love these kids, they are such a good help to our club during the annual bike ride, let's joint them on the Bluff. The apples go to 2nd Harvest. Yes!

Last week we had as our speaker Officer Todd Belitz and his K-9 partner Zeus. Those of you that could not attend missed a great program. I’m glad I will never be on the receiving end of being chased by that mighty canine or his handler! Learning about his program gave me a whole new level of appreciation for these members of local law enforcement. They have a very tough job!

Last week was another very educational presentation with Dieter Bohrman providing an update on the cleanup progress at the superfund site Hanford. We learned about the many complications with the project. It appears the cleanup will be lasting throughout our lifetimes. As long as they get it right for the next generations…

Eric Moss, Consumer Protection Outreach & Education Coordinator of the office of the WA Attorney General presented to us on Identity Theft.

In 2016 his office received 12,262 complaints and 23,490 phone calls. He credits the state's work in this area to saving the consumer $2.6 million. Some of the small business scams focused on new businesses, often unexperienced business person, minority owned businesses especially with limited English speaking skills.

From scams to identity theft, he provided us with data and resources that will help us be even more well-informed. Thank you Eric for the information!

John Nelson of the Mt Spokane Ski Patrol told us many interesting things about the National Ski Patrol Society. It was founded in 1938 by "Minnie" Dole and today there are more than 27,000 + patrollers serving more than 650 patrols. This is the same year that Mount Spokane was established ... 1938. They boast of having the oldest 2-seat chair lift and the largest all-volunteer patrol of 135 members.

NEW MEMBERS! Our Membership Chair and Past President Brent Matthison inducted two new members to our club one is Rob Allen, CEO of Fairfield Farmers Market and the other is Jim Turner a retired educator, sponsored by Bruce Johnson. Welcome to our club, we are eager to get to know you both.

This week our club learned about the Spokane Guilds’ School &amp; Neuromuscular Center from KorinMichielli, Development Director. The Guild School is perhaps best known for their annual Penny Drive,one of several fundraisers conducted by the school.

The Freedom Project has been operating for 2 years at Airway Heights Corrections center. Kathy DuCrest has been facilitating the 16 week program in Nonviolent Communication. She says this same program is implemented at the United Nations and in schools in war torn countries. There is a 34% decrease in recidivism in the population that partakes in this program because the men coming in are highly motivated to make change.

Larry Krauter CEO of Spokane International Airport and Felts Field spoke this week to our club. Their byline: GEG Generating Economic Growth. He outlined some of the Federal and State regulations and issues that make his job so interesting.

Local Scams and Fraud was the topic last week with Kristin Davis the Marketplace Director for the Better Business Bureau. She noted our Rotary 4-Way Test banner hanging in the dining room and said she uses those very same core principals when teaching ethics class to youths.

Chief Jack Cates of Spokane County Fire District #9 spoke to our club and his guest was board member Tom McGarry. Together they told the story of Fire District #9 which serves 120 square miles of the north end of Spokane. They receive approximately 5500 calls a year from a population of 44,000.

The fire district is funded 100% by property taxes which come in via a regular levy of $1.50/1000 and special levies to make up the deficit, all approved by taxpayers. Chief Jack said he has 70 career fire fighters and 100 volunteers and these cover 9 stations. They also offer advanced life support and paramedic services 24/7. Some of the benefits to the taxpayers are:

CPR and First Aid training

Blood pressure checks

Sports event standby

Labor organization

Christmas on Fire program = 500 coats for kids

Demo Day and Open House

Fuels Mitigation Program

They have become one of the most admired fire districts in the state because of their financial conservation. One of the premiere showcases is not only an in-house maintenance program but, they also save funds for future truck and equipment purchases. This it seems, is quite a novel idea among his peers.

Our newest member was inducted Thursday ... Marilyn Highberg. Marilyn is a retired school administrator from School District 81. Marilyn is not new to Rotary, she was a long time member of the Hillyard Rotary Club. Please take time to welcome her into our club.

YMCA and District Governor Elect Bev Reed presented this week at our club. These two youths, Gabby and Josiah are recipients of educational opportunities through our local YMCA. Josiah has been attending Gonzaga through the ActSix program and will be going on to law school. Gabby has been part of the Youth and Government Program. Act Six is a leadership development and college scholarship program that brings together diverse, multicultural cadres of emerging urban leaders who want to use their college education to make a difference on campus and in their communities at home. How encouraging to hear from both of these students.

PJ Waters, author and Past President of Rotary Club 21 spoke to us last week regarding Inland Northwest Community Foundation and their efforts in our region. They professionally manage and invest the donors' charitable dollars and assist them in awarding grants and scholarships from their funds. They manage 500 funds including 100 agency funds adding up to $112 million in assets investment pool for endowments. They have distributed $62 million since and 1975 and $5 million in grants in the 2016-17 year. Their motto is connecting people who care with causes that matter.

Elliott Briggs spoke to us as a docent of the Honor Point Military and Aerospace Museum located at Felts Field, Spokane. The museum is explaining the past for our future. He had interesting historical photos of early aviation in Spokane which began in 1910 plus, WWI the trained pilots here, including the Lafayette Escadrille. He said that WWII was the genesis of air force and naval aviation. Also, he highlighted the all woman assembly line in the facility here.

Honor Point is a center where unique aircraft and rare technology representing the evolution of aeronautic engineering are presented in the context of individual lives and important events. Honor Point allows those who understand historic aircraft and their significance to share their irreplaceable knowledge. Honor Point Military & Aerospace Museum occupies a prominent site at historic Felts Field in Spokane and is a place where personal stories come alive with interactive exhibits representing aviation and military science. http://honorpoint.org/honor-point/

Just this month, we've inducted two new members into our club. Karol Price is transferring in from Spokane South Rotary and Emery Krahn is transferring in from Deer Park Rotary. Please take time to welcome them both into our club. They will both be great assets to us.

Our club member Jim Roeber recalled an event for us when he was involved in the July 4, 1974 Trans Pacific Yacht Race. That's from California to Hawaii using the great circle route. There were 60 boats in 4 classes entered into the race and of course, there were trials and tribulations. There were gale force winds of 45 knots, 4 hour watches during the day and 3 hour watches at night, they were heeled over between 30 degrees and 40 degrees at one time with no electricity. Their navigation was done by RDF and sextant only. What a thrilling race it was. Jim said, "You never stop racing 24/7." Thank you Jim, it was wonderful to hear.

Last week we held our annual Installation Dinner to change leadership within our club. We met at Beacon Hill Event and Catering thanks to member Peter Rayner who is the owner. Here are a few of the great pics to commemorate the event.

Our President Brent and our Rotary Club honored Rex Reed as the Rotarian of the Year. This was last week at our annual induction dinner. Rex is a hard working guy, always willing to help. He served as Club Foundation Chair for 25 years and Club Administrator for 30 years. Where's Rex? On vaca in Montana. Well done Rex! We so appreciate you!

June 22nd Pastor Matt Goodrich from Newport WA captivated us with one story after another. His theme was to have reverence for one another. He said his passion is for people. Respect is a deep and profound respect for someone or something. Pastor Matt notices that people want to define him, want to know which church is his, what theology, put him in a box and label it. He objects to that and instead chooses to respect all people. He said Rotary is displaying reverence to all and it is so needed in our culture and our world right now.

His dad once pricked his finger and then talked about the blood oozing out, saying it runs in all of us. Our skin and it's color is just window dressing, we're to pay attention to what's inside of each one of us. Do not give in to irreverent people.

Our club President Brent Mathison was telling us a fish story ... I suppose since it's his last meeting, we can cut him some slack. What do you think. It was such a big fish, I couldn't get it all in my camera lens. LOL

Rogers High School Principal Lori Wyborney and Assistant Principal Marty Rubinette spoke at our club in June. They were highlighting the ways they have used grant money to raise the standard and expectations of students at their school.

We have yet another member in the spotlight with a Paul Harris pin. This past week Foundation Chair Mike Dalessi honored Dr Frank Walchak with his Paul Harris + 4 pin. What a great achievement Frank and, congratulations for all your contributions to the Rotary International Foundation!

Last week Foundation Chair Mike Dalessi presented Paul Harris awards to two more of our members. Secretary Hanne Young received her PH + 2 pin and President Brent Mathison received his PH + 1 pin. Congratulations to you both for all your efforts toward the Rotary International Foundation.

Foundation Chair Mike Dalessi presented Past President Karen Heppler her Paul Harris +5 pin. This represents $6000 that Karen has donated to the Rotary Foundation. Good job Karen! This is what keeps funding all of our wonderful projects both here and around the world.

Pride Prep, the 1st charter school in Washington, presented to us last week. Brenda McDonald the District Superintendent and Johnny Whitmore her Ops Manager came to our meeting. They are challenging the status quo and using 21st century curriculum, teaching the students to adapt and solve problems. This includes personalized learning, workshop projects and a hands on skill set.

This 24th year ride offers a variety of fun, scenic and challenging tours for every level of rider. Five tour lengths support all levels of riders and everyone will enjoy a free baked-potato feed at the finish. Tri-athletes may register for a Bike/Run “Brick” transition to a 5 K run from a secure bike holding area. All proceeds to benefit local charities supported by the Spokane Aurora Northwest Rotary Club

Don’t Miss Out!Lilac Century bike drawing for a Trek FX1 Bike sized to fit, with helmet, bottle and cage. Provided by North Division Bicycle. Value of $500.00! If you would like to enter the drawing, Tickets are $2.00. Tickets are available at the packet pick-up. Need not be present to win!

TRIATHLETE SPECIALWe will have a secure bike-run transition area for Triathletes who want to practice a "race-pace" transition into a short 5K run. Sign up for a "Brick"!!

NEW FAMILY FUN RIDE ROUTE

The 15 and 22 mile rides have been redesigned to be more family friendly. The new courses are nearly flat and the 15 mile course avoids road traffic altogether! Both routes follow the newly paved "Fish Lake Trail" from the trailhead at the foot of Sunset Hill out to Scribner Rd and back. The 22 mile route is the same as the 15 mile route with the addition of a 3.2 mile section from SFCC along Government Way past the cemeteries and returning the same way. For more information about the Fish Lake Trail, https://static.spokanecity.org/documents/parks/trails/fish-lake-trail-brochure.pdf

FEATURESDeluxe collectors short sleeve t-shirt; healthy snacks and beverages at all stops; great potato bake feed at the finish line; route map; rider’s packet full of goodies!

SUPPORTThe route is monitored by Rotarians and volunteers. Technical and mechanical support is provided by North Division Bicycle Shop.

WHERE THE MONEY GOESYour fees help raise funds for the Spokane Aurora Northwest Rotary Club. These funds are returned to the community through Rotary Community Projects such as:• Christmas Food Baskets for needy families• Kids at Risk• College Scholarships

10:30 15 Mile ride and Family RideALL ROUTES START and Finish at Spokane Falls Community College.Suggested start times are when “the starting gun goes off”. However, feel free to start whenever you are ready, but please, only start after the suggested start time for your ride. Remember, this is a ride, not a race. We will have a big clock timer at the finish area, so you can see how you did.

Welcome To Aurora Northwest Rotary

Welcome to the Spokane Aurora Northwest Rotary website. We are an active club of 47 members. Our club was chartered on January 5, 1984.

Many of our members have expressed that our club feels like an extended family. We care about one another and enjoying working on projects and socializing at our meetings.

With a common goal we work on both community and international projects on our own and in partnership with other Rotary clubs and our district. By combining our efforts we are able to multiply the results of our projects.

In order to accomplish our projects, there are two Fund Raisers a year. The first starting in October is a cruise raffle in which, if you win, you have a choice of one of four cruises for two on a Princess ship in a balcony room with $1,000 for other expenses. The second is our Lilac Century Bike Ride and we will be celebrating its 24th year the last Sunday in April, 2016. With as many as 800 riders and a brick transition for the Triathlete we are the earliest major bike ride in Spokane that caters to families as well as serious athletes.

During December we provide 48 families in need with Christmas baskets. The baskets are a full shopping cart of food. Working with KXLY “Coats 4 Kids” we provide coats for all children in these families. A coupon for Chuck E Cheese is provided to allow families to have a meal out with tokens for the children. This is a favorite for our families.

In spring, we sponsor a Summer Reading Program with six elementary schools to provide a book, selected by their teacher, to each child in the 4th and 5th grade. Many of these children have no books at home. This allows the children to have a book of their own to read and enjoy. This year will be the 10th year of this program, and we will be providing 800+ books to our schools.

Our Youth Program provides five or more scholarships of $1000.00 each to high school seniors or continuing students for college or technology school. We also celebrate a student of the month from Rogers, Mead and Mt. Spokane High Schools.

Rotary is about “Service above Self” but we certainly have fun together doing the service. If you are interested in being a part of this kind of organization; we invite you to look us over. Meetings are once a week on Thursday’s from noon to one at Kalispel Golf and Country Club. This is your personal invitation to come. Just email me at bmathison@bannerbank.com and I will send you directions and let you know who the speaker will be for that week.